Fruit sauce can be made from any kind of fruit per your preference. Your delicious cheesecake, waffles or ice cream won’t complete without the presence of a flavorful fruit sauce. Making a fruit sauce is also a way to handle the excess ripe fruits in your garden that are over your family’s consumption.
Typically, nobody likes a runny fruit sauce as it’s more like juice than a sauce and it’s not attractive or palatable pouring this watery sauce over your desserts. If you once failed in making fruit sauce then this article is for you since we will show you how to thicken fruit sauce in several ways.
How to thicken fruit sauce with a starch thickener
Using cornstarch to make your runny fruit sauce thicker is the most common method. In this section, you are going to learn how to use cornstarch or other thickening agents in a proper way to thicken fruit sauce.
Material
- 4 tsp. of cornstarch
- 2 tsp. of water
Tools
- A saucepan
- A bowl
- A spoon
Instruction
- Create a slurry from the above proportion of cornstarch and water
- Stir the slurry into the fruit sauce while it’s simmering
- Simmer for a few minutes until the thickness reaches the right consistency
Notes
- You can adjust the amount of water and the starch thickener if your sauce doesn’t meet the required consistency
- Arrowroot and tapioca powder can be substituted for cornstarch with the same amount but be careful that arrowroot might lose its potency if overcooked
How to thicken fruit sauce by simmering it without any materials
Reducing the sauce is the way to remove any excess liquid that helps to thicken s runny sauce. The principle is letting the water evaporate by simmering the sauce so it will get thicken later on.
Material
- None
Tools
- A saucepan
- A spoon
Instruction
- Pour the sauce into a saucepan and put in the stovetop over the low heat
- Stir the sauce occasionally until it is thickened as you expect
Notes
- Time in this method can vary depending on many factors, therefore, watch your sauce carefully to avoid burning it
- Simmering will only slightly thicken your sauce so if you are looking for a really thick sauce, you should use other ways
How to thicken fruit sauce with gelatin
Gelatin is normally tasteless and colorless so when using this ingredient to thicken your fruit sauce, the flavor and color of the sauce will still be kept as the original. Let us show you how it works:
Material
- Gelatin powder
Tools
- A saucepan
- A spoon
- A bowl
Instruction
- Add a small amount of gelatin into a cold mixture and mix thoroughly
- Slowly add the mixture to the fruit sauce you wish to thicken while it’s simmering over low heat until you get the desired consistency
Notes
- Be sure to do this method slowly, as too much gelatin will turn your sauce into jello
How to thicken fruit sauce with sugar
Sugar appears in every kitchen and as we already know, melted sugar has the same texture as a slurry so it might help to thicken a runny sauce. This section will show you how to use sugar to fix your fruit sauce.
Material
- A cup of sugar
- A cup of water
Tools
- A saucepan
- A spoon
Instruction
- Add a little sugar to water then boil the mixture until the sugar is dissolved
- Pour the mixture of sugar to the fruit sauce while it’s simmering until it reaches the desired thickness
Notes
- The ratio of sugar and water will depend on how much thick you expect the sauce to be. Equal parts of sugar and water will result in a heavy thick sauce and more water will slightly thicken the sauce
- Be careful if your sauce will be extra sweet, just check the flavor before serving to adjust the water or sugar amount
